Coupling device.



D. E. ENGLE.

GOUPLING DBVIGE.

APPLICATION FILED Emmi, 1911.

1,018,556 Patented Feb.27,1912.

.|'Hlllullll M K i am" mmm; i f i I l I f 2\ l u M i WNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID E. ENGLE, OF KIEFER, OKLAHOMA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 A. LESCHEN & SONS ROPE COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION 0F MISSOURI.

COUPLING- DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led 'February 6, 1911.

Patented Feb. 27, 1912.

Serial No. 606,946.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID E. ENGLE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Kiefer, in the county of Creek and State of Oklahoma, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coupling Devices, of which the following is a speci- Iication.

This invention relates to coupling devices, and more particularly to such devices used in connection with sucker rods for oil wells.

The rods usually employed in oil pumps are of two general types, namely, sectional metal or wooden rods and cables. Cables are more frequently employed for the reason that they are less expensive than the metal or wooden rods; especially lwhere they are designed to operate in extremely deep wells. Obviously, the metal and wooden rods have to be made in sections which are detachably connected by coupling members which add to the cost of the rod. So, too, in removing a rod the sections frequently become disconnected and drop into the well, and sometimes the sec tions become accidentally disconnected in use. I-Ience, considerable labor and expense is entailed in recovering the rod from the well, and, in some cases, the well has to be abandoned. On the other hand, it has been found to be extremely difficult, and, in some cases, altogether' impossible to detach the cable from the sucker or piston, in order to permit the withdrawal of the cable and the subsequent removal of the tubular casing through which the cable passes, in the event of any injury to the sucker or of same becoming wedged in the casing.

The object of the present invention is to provide for readily disconnecting the rod or cable from t-he sucker so that the former may be removed from the tubular casing.

The invention consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing which forms part of thisspecilication, and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1. is a vertical section through the bottom portion of an oil well casing, the coupling device for the cable and sucker `being shown in elevation; Fig. 2. is a view on an enlarged scale, showing the coupling device partly in vertical section and partly in elevation; Fig. 3. is a vertical section through one of the coupling members; Fig. 4. is a side elevation of another of the coupling members; and Fig. 5. is an elevation of the coupling member shown in Fig. 4, looking at the same at a right angle to its position in said F ig. 4.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the well is illustrated as lined with a tubular casing 1. Within the tubular casing 1 is a pump-tube 2 on the lower end of which is fixed a pump-barrel or cylinder 3. In the bottom of the pump-barrel 3 is an upwardly opening valve 4; and working above said valve within the pump-barrel is a sucker or piston 5. The sucker is provided with a central opening 6 which is covered by an upwardly opening valve 7 Obviously, however, any desirable construction and arrangement of sucker and valves may be substituted for that herein set forth without departing from my invention.

The attachment of the sucker 5 to the cable 8 is effected by means of a coupling device comprising two interlocking and separable sections 9, 10, respectively. The sections of the coupling maybe secured, respectively, to the cable and sucker in any desirable manner. Preferably, however, the end portion of the cable 8 is ixedly secured to a shank or stem 11 which is joined with a weight 12. The stem or shank 11 is pro-4 vided in its lower portionwith a screwthreaded bore which is adapted to receive a screw-threaded shank or stem 13 on the upper end portion of the coupling piece 14 whose lower portion is provided with a screw-threaded stem 15. The portion 15 is .fitted through a cent-ral opening in said weight 12 and into the screw-threaded portion 16 of the bore 17 in the upper portion of the upper coupling member 9.

The lower coupling member 10 is provided with a bore 18 in it-s lower portion which is similar to the bore 17 in the upper member 9. In the screw-threaded portion of the bore 18 is fitted a screw-threaded stem 19 on the upper end of a coupling piece 20 whose lower end portion is provided with a screw-threaded stem 21. Sleeved on the stem 21 is a weight 22 which is clamped between the shoulder portion 23 of said coupling piece 2O and the yoke or spider 24 of the sucker 5. The yoke or spider 24 is provided with a central opening through which the end portion of the stem 21 is projected to receive a securing nut 25 which is tightened against the under side of said yoke or spider 24.

The two coupling members 9 and 10 are formed with meeting portions which are overlapped and formed with counterpart portions arranged and adapted to interlock. That is, the lower and upper portions, respectively, of the upper and lower coupling members 9, 10, are out away on a vertical plane substantially diametrically of the respective members so as to form flat longitudinal faces 216 adapted to t directly against each other. The portions of the members 9 and 10 at the opposite ends of the flattened portions 26 are beveled or chamfered at corresponding angles as at 27 and 28, respectively.

The middle port-ion of the flattened face 26 on each of the members 9 and 10 is formed alternately with counterpart lugs 29 and grooves or pockets 30. The outer faces of the lugs 29 and bottoms of the grooves 30 are fiat and parallel with the flattened faces 26, while the end portions of the grooves and lugs are beveled and undercut corresponding to the angle of the beveled portions 27 and 28, excepting the outer end portion of the respective lugs near the ends of said members 9 and 10. These endmost lugs are provided with square shoulders 31 against which the ends of spring-pressed pins 32 are adapted to bear. These springpressed vpins are slidably fitted in bores 33 extending from the respective bores 17, 18, in the coupling members 9, 10, to the inclined end portions of the innermost grooves 30 in said members 9 and 10. Ahead or enlargement 34 is provided on the inner end of each of said pins 32; and between said heads and the ends of the respective screw-threaded stem portions 15, 19, of the coupling members 14 and 20, are placed coiled springs 35, whereby the pins 32 are yieldingly heldin contact with shoulders 31 of the adjacent lugs 29. The beveled faces 28 of the members 9 and 10 are preferably grooved as at 36 so as to provide counterpart seats for reduced portions or ribs 37 on the beveled end faces 27 of said members 9 and 10. By this arrangement, independent torsional movement of the two sections of the coupling is further resisted in addition to the lock effected by the seating of the llugs 29 in the grooves or seats 30.

In coupling the members 9 and 10 together, the members 14 and 20 are unscrewed from the respective members 9 and 10 until the springs 35 are relieved of compression and the pins 32 may be moved inwardly and clear of the adjacent grooved jportions`30. Then the cooperating cut away "portions of the members 9 and 10 are over-l lapped and brought together, the counterpart lugs 29 moving into the grooves 30 with an inward and downward movement until the parts are fitted snugly together, as shown in F ig. 2 of the drawings. The members 14 and 20 are then screwed inwardly and tightened against the ends of the respective members 9 and 10, whereby the springs 35 are placed under compression and the pins 32 are impinged against the shoulders 31 on the adjacent lugs 29. By this arrangement, the springs 35 exert sufficient force through the pins 32 against the inner ends of the coupling members 9 and 10 to hold them in their normal interlocked positions.

lVhen the cable 8 is pulled upwardly in raising the column of oil in the tube- 2 in the act of pumping, the interlocled undercut portions of the lugs 29 and grooves 30, of course, naturally hold the coupling intact; and the descent of the sucker being effected by its own weight combined with the weight of the coupling, the cable 8 is held taut as it is played out to permit the sucker to descend, andv the coupling is, of course, held intact.

Should it be desired for. any reason to disconnect the cable from the sucker, the cable is suddenly dropped, and the sucker, coupling and cable dropping under their combined weight will, as soon as the sucker is arrested against downward 'movement, cause a jar, whereby the upper section 9 of the coupling continues to move downwardly independently of the lower section 10. Consequently, the interlocled lugs will ride outwardly over the coperating faces of the adjacent lugs and the pins 32 will be forced back against the tension of the springs 35 and thereby separating the sections 9 and 1() laterally. As soon as the members are disconnected the cable may be withdrawn from the tube and the casing 2 may then be removed section by section from the well.

Obviously, the device admits ,of considerable modication without departing from my invention. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown.

What I claim is:

1. A coupling for sucker rods comprising a pair of members secured the one to the sucker and the other to the rod, said members having coperating overlapped meeting portions, the contiguous faces of said overlapped portions being provided with interengaging means adapted to prevent relative outward longitudinal movement of the members, but permitting relative inward longitudinal movement thereof, and further provided with means for effecting the separation of said members when force is exerted to move them relatively longitudinally inward, and resilient means on one member bearing endwise against the other for yieldingly holding said members normally against said inward movementJ and permitting automatic separation thereof.

2. A coupling for sucker rods, comprising a pair of coupling members connected the one to the sucker and the other to the rod, said members having interengaging portions arranged so that the same are locked against outward longitudinal movement but permitted relative inward longitudinal movement and lateral separation, and resilient means on one of said members arranged and adapted to bear against the other member for yieldingly holding said interengaging portions against said relative inward longitudinal movement and lateral separation.

3. A coupling for sucker rods, comprising aV pair of counterpart coupling members having interlocked portions comprising undercut and beveled lugs and pockets, whereby said coupling members are held against outward longitudinal movement but permitted relative inward longitudinal movement and lateral separation, and resilient means on one of said members arranged and adapted to bear endwise against the other member to yieldingly hold said Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

members against said relative inward longitudinal movement and lateral separation.

4. In'an oil pump, the combination with the sucker and sucker rod, of a coupling comprising two counterpart members connected the one to the sucker and the other to the sucker rod, said members having reduced meeting portions adapted to overlap, and the contiguous coperating overlapped portions having interengaging counterpart lugs and recesses which are undercut and beveled, so that said two coupling members are held against relative outward longitudinal movement but permitted relative inward logitudinal movement and lateral separation, a transverse square shoulder on one of said coupling members, and alongitudinally disposed spring-pressed pin on the opposed portion of the other coupling member adapted to bear against said shoulder and yieldingly holding the two coupling members normally against said inward longitudinal movement and lateral separation.

Signed at Kiefer, Oklahoma, this 2nd day of Feb., 1911.

DAVID E. ENGLE. Witnesses:

N. W. HIBBARD, S. E. BAILEY.

Washington, D. G. 

